East Central Reporter

State Representative Adam Niemerg has called on Governor J.B. Pritzker to take immediate measures to halt the influx of illegal drugs into Illinois prisons via mail. After visiting Robinson Correctional and Lawrence Correctional facilities, Niemerg urged Acting Director Latoya Hughes to acquire copy machines. These machines would be used to replicate drug-laced paper mail onto clean sheets for inmates, with the originals either destroyed or returned.

“There are growing safety concerns at Illinois prisons as both inmates and staff have been hospitalized and at least four inmates have died,” Niemerg stated in his letter to Gov. JB Pritzker. He highlighted that synthetic cannabis is being smuggled into prisons through letters laced with potent drugs, leading to fatal consequences including four inmate deaths and numerous hospitalizations of guards.

Reports indicate there have been 88 incidents across 16 Illinois prisons recently, mostly linked to synthetic cannabis. The practice involves inmates lighting drug-laced paper, inadvertently causing guards who inhale the fumes to fall ill.

“Just recently another corrections officer at Lawrenceville Correctional Center was hospitalized after being exposed to the drugs,” Niemerg continued in his correspondence with the Governor. He expressed surprise at how a simple solution like a copy machine could prevent such incidents for a relatively low cost.

Niemerg noted that Lawrenceville Correctional Center receives about 80-90 pieces of mail daily, suggesting that copying these letters would not require excessive time or resources. Union leaders he consulted were supportive of this measure if it could prevent further guard hospitalizations.

“This seems like a common-sense solution to a very real problem," Niemerg added, expressing disappointment that Acting Director Latoya Hughes was not receptive to this approach. He acknowledged ongoing efforts toward a permanent solution but stressed the urgency for immediate action to avert more hospitalizations and fatalities among staff and inmates.